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NBC News reported that Michael Kelsey, a former Dutchess County Legislator who was convicted of sexually abusing two children in 2016, has been accused of misconduct long before that conviction, according to a $320 million lawsuit that was filed in 2017.
The ongoing lawsuit, of which new details have recently emerged, details multiple accusations from members of his former troop while he was an assistant scoutmaster of Troop 95 in Fishkill.
It is alleged in the lawsuit that Kelsey sang the popular Lion King song “Hakuna Matata” in April 2012 following a night swim. He allegedly sang “with his hips gyrating and penis swinging about,” a mother of one of the boys said in an affidavit.
The mother was allegedly told about the misconduct, though the troop never investigated the claims.
"He basically told me that he talked to the other boys and they didn't see or hear anything,” the mother told NBC News this month. "He said maybe my son misunderstood what he saw. I said, 'My son misunderstood a naked man singing 'Hakuna Matata’?”
The lawsuit alleges that because the “Hakuna Matata” incident was ignored and never reported, and other policies weren’t properly followed, Kelsey was able to continue as a scout leader, allowing him to potentially target other children.
In a statement, the Boy Scouts of America claim the incident was investigated, and that it did not involve Kelsey at all. No other information was released by the organization.
Kelsey, a longtime member of the Boy Scouts, has repeatedly maintained his innocence since his 2016 conviction, though an attempt in July to get that conviction overturned was denied in court.
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